Chapter 152: Nobody Wants to Expose Their True Identity
In the first-floor lobby of the clock tower, the man who claimed to have found Kid slowly walked inside.
The police officers in the lobby had been notified in advance, but standard procedure still had to be followed.
"State your name, age, and birthday."
Kuroba Kaito chuckled inwardly. Inspector Nakamori was still the same—not paying proper attention. If someone really wanted to impersonate an officer, they'd definitely have memorized all that information beforehand.
"My name is Izumi Youichi, I'm 27 years old, and my birthday is June 2nd."
Heh, this is too easy for Kaitou Kid. Starting off so smoothly—I'm sure to achieve my objective tonight.
"Alright." The officer nodded after checking the personnel roster. "Thank you for your cooperation. Inspector Nakamori is waiting for you in the command center."
"Yes, sir!"
Kaito adjusted himself slightly and strode confidently toward the stairs.
"Hey, isn't there something else we should check?"
The voice came through his earpiece. Even disguised as Izumi Youichi, Kaito wore a standard police earpiece and naturally heard the transmission.
He paused, somewhat puzzled. This voice... it sounds synthesized, mechanical—not like any police officer's voice.
The officer who'd just checked Kaito's credentials was also momentarily confused, but quickly dismissed it. Probably just a radio malfunction. As long as it still functioned for communication, there was no problem.
"Is there anything else to verify?" the officer muttered to himself, suddenly remembering something. Earlier, a young person with a hoarse voice had suggested asking for badge numbers. If someone could recite their badge number correctly, they were less likely to be Kaitou Kid.
"Should I ask for his badge number?" the officer questioned over the radio.
"No need for that. Just pull at his skin—don't you think that would work better, Mr. Kaitou Kid?"
Kaito's face flushed red. The moment he heard that suggestion, even though the voice was synthesized, he immediately recognized who it was!
—Natsukawa! That guy again!
The officer was stunned momentarily but then turned to look at Kaito. This actually seemed like a reasonable verification method.
Whether someone was in disguise could be determined by simply pulling at their skin.
"Yes! Pull at their face! If it's Kid, the disguise will come off!"
It was Nakamori Ginzo who spoke up. He suddenly remembered that Natsukawa had mentioned this exact method during the Azure Wonder case.
"Damn it! How could I forget such a crucial detection technique?! Otherwise, we might have already caught Kaitou Kid during the first two heists!"
Inspector Nakamori was furious with himself.
"But who are you?! These headsets are brand new—there's absolutely no way they could malfunction! Who are you?! How did you infiltrate the Metropolitan Police Department's radio frequency?!"
Inspector Nakamori was enraged. It seemed all sorts of unauthorized people could access their communications!
Inspector Megure was one thing, but now there was this mysterious person with a completely synthesized voice.
"Heh, my name is Hakuba Saguru—the Hakuba of Police Superintendent Hakuba." Natsukawa casually fabricated an identity. Inspector Nakamori couldn't verify it anyway, so it didn't matter what name he used. This was also a subtle way of informing Kaito that Hakuba Saguru would soon be returning to Japan.
"It doesn't matter who you are! Do you realize you've broken the law?! Hacking into police communications and interfering with an important operation—that's a crime that could land you in detention for at least ten days to two weeks!"
"Inspector Nakamori, didn't I tell you? My name is Hakuba Saguru—the Hakuba of Police Superintendent Hakuba."
The radio went silent for a moment. Nakamori Ginzo was probably consulting with someone else. After a brief pause, two coughs came through: "Ah, it's young Hakuba-kun! Please give my regards to your father, Superintendent Hakuba."
In the helicopter, Kudo Shinichi had a dark expression on his face. If I'd known it was this easy to infiltrate communications, I would have pretended to be Hakuba Saguru too. After all, I have Professor Agasa's voice-changing bow tie—it might have been even more convincing.
As for this mysterious person, they definitely weren't the real Hakuba Saguru. If they were willing to reveal their true identity, why would they need to use a synthesized voice?
The answer was obvious—Hakuba Saguru was just a convenient shield for this mysterious individual.
Kaito committed the name Hakuba Saguru to memory.
In the lobby, all the police officers' eyes focused on him.
He had one foot on the stairs, feeling rather awkward.
"Officer Izumi Youichi, come here for a moment."
Kaito remained silent, frozen in place.
All the officers on guard went on high alert. Those stationed farther away began approaching, and the sound of footsteps echoed from outside the entrance.
One by one, riot control team members swarmed inside.
A few seconds later, the door slammed shut with a heavy thud, instantly sealing off the entire first-floor lobby.
Everyone raised their batons and riot shields defensively.
"Heh heh, Mr. Hakuba, I'll remember you." Kaito didn't reveal Natsukawa's true identity, which was perfectly natural—just as Natsukawa hadn't announced to the world that Kaito was Kaitou Kid.
The two shared an unspoken understanding regarding their secret identities. Neither wanted their true identity exposed.
This included Kudo Shinichi in the helicopter.
A crucial reason Kudo Shinichi was participating from the helicopter was that he didn't want others discovering he was still alive.
He was now definitely on the Black Organization's hit list. If he appeared publicly or before the media and was discovered by them, he could very well become a target again.
He'd been fortunate to shrink and survive last time, but next time was uncertain.
"Thank you for remembering me, Mr. Kid, but you should worry about how you're going to escape from here. It seems the riot squad has already sealed the entrance—you're trapped now."
"That's not necessarily true. Just wait and see."
Damn it!
Nakamori Ginzo's face turned pale with frustration. These two were communicating over the radio channel, completely disregarding him—the inspector in charge!
"Apprehend Kid immediately!"
As soon as the order was given, all officers in the first-floor lobby responded and moved into action.
"You can't escape, Kaitou Kid!"
"That remains to be seen." The elegant phantom thief grabbed his collar and yanked outward, instantly tearing off the blue police uniform to reveal a billowing white cape underneath.
"Then allow me to treat the officers on the first floor to a spectacular white show tonight!"
As he spoke, the police uniform was flung aside, and spherical objects tumbled from beneath it.
"Smoke bombs! Everyone don gas masks immediately! Control room, activate the ventilation system!" Nakamori Ginzo issued rapid-fire orders from the command center. Going downstairs at this point was obviously futile—monitoring the situation and directing operations was the optimal approach.
However, white fog rapidly engulfed the surveillance cameras, shrouding the entire first-floor lobby in an opaque haze.
"Control room! Control room, respond!"
Nakamori Ginzo shouted repeatedly, but received no response from the control room operators.
"Heh, they're probably taking a well-deserved nap. Inspector Nakamori, making them work such late hours—what's wrong with letting them sleep in a bit?"
Kaito adjusted his gas mask and departed casually.
As for the officers in the lobby, they were all collapsed on the ground, unable to rise.
The smoke bombs contained a powerful sleeping gas—a signature tactic of Kaitou Kid.
The fans outside erupted in enthusiastic cheers. Seeing the riot squad enter and then seal the door, they knew it signaled Kaitou Kid's appearance—further confirmed by the white fog seeping through the door cracks.
"Kyaa! Look, my idol is so amazing!" Sonoko, who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, stood beside Yor and shouted excitedly.
"Y-yeah!" Yor smiled awkwardly, somewhat at a loss.
This Sonoko was brazenly praising her idol right in front of police—and her idol was none other than Kaitou Kid, the notorious phantom thief who'd repeatedly embarrassed the Metropolitan Police Department.
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